The Judge and the Defender
by MisguidedGhostWriter
Summary: Frisk's powers do more then cause Sans grief, they are destroying the fabric of time itself. People close to the anomaly are falling through holes in reality and landing in different timelines. One such unlucky SOUL is Sans, who waits to fight a genocidal child, only to find himself in a strange surface world with an older, more mysterious version of himself. Will he survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Content Warnings: There is adult language, minor depictions of blood, alcohol use, and sight allusions to self destructive behavior of more than one kind ahead. Nothing really bad, but still present. I'd give this a 14+ rating. You've been warned.**

* * *

Golden light filled the hall where Sans stood. 52. This was the 52nd consecutive battle with the human. It approached him with those same soulless, red eyes. The heart locket on its chest swung with each step against its tattered, bloody sweat shirt. Its knife, bloody and dusty, monsters didn't bleed _where did that blood come from,_ sat clutched in its hand. And its smile, its awful smile that stretched across its sadistic face, glowed up at Sans. Its body was covered in dust that followed the thing in a trail like it was some antique, untended, doll that had crawled off a shelf with a vengeance.

"Let's just get to the point." Sans smirked, the battle began, his eye burned blue, the dusty scarf around his neck felt heavy. The things SOUL floated from its body and then...the golden hall was gone. He was gone. For a fraction there was only void, and silence, the birds stopped their mournful songs. There was nothing. Had he died? Just like that?

And then, there was light. The light was blinding, unknown, terrifying. Under his slippers, which were now...cold and wet? Was grass. Green grass that swayed in the wind and glistened with dew. The air was clean, and it moved and flowed in a breeze that smelled of pine trees and blackberries and freshly fallen rain. And that light, that blinding glowing light...he looked up, shielding his eye sockets. Was that...the sun?

"Sans?" The scarred voice piped up. The skeleton, bewildered, starred in front of him. It was the creature, the non-human. It had a frisbee in it's hand, its hair was wind blown, its cheeks were flushed from the crisp morning cool. "Are...you..o-kay?" The child said the words slowly, like they were struggling with them. "Is that.." the frowned and sighed and began making motions with its hands, sign language. Sans only caught a couple of the words, "Dust...you...okay?" It asked.

Sans recovered from his frozen shock and called upon his full magic.

The thing screamed as a blaster appeared.

Sans was about to blast the demon when, "down boy!" The voice rang from behind him, the voice of...himself.

Confused, the blaster, like a puppy, backed away and whimpered, passing a glance between the speaker and Sans.

Sans turned to the speaker, and his mind whirled. It was another version of him.

"frisk," The other Sans said steadily, keeping eye contact with his double, "i think we have another jumper. get inside, now. find...your friend and take them with you. understood?"

The thing nodded and ran off, towards a house in the distance. Sans followed it with his eyes, glaring.

The other Sans put a hand on his double's shoulder, "welcome to the pacifist timeline, and the surface. you look like you could use a drink." From his jacket pocket he grabbed a flask, along with little poucheis of ketchup, "choose your poison."

Sans grabbed the flask and began drinking. His shining blue eye dimmed to a light glow, the blaster disappeared. The other Sans sighed and opened a ketchup packet. He sat on the dewed grass and patted the spot next to him. "you can relax." He said, "this frisk isn't a threat to anyone but themself. promise."

Sans collapsed on the grass, not sure if he was angry, or scared, or vengeful. He couldn't tell. He felt mostly numb.

"frisk?" He demanded, anger and pain in his voice.

"that's their name." The other Sans informed. "they're not a bad kid."

"then why did they kill everyone?" Sans spat.

"they didn't, not in this timeline."

"what about the timeline where they did?" Sans practically yelled, clutching at the scarf of his dead brother. He took an angry sip from the flask.

"what about the timeline where hitler cured cancer?" The other Sans chuckled, quoting a TV show he had taken a liking to, "the answer is don't think about it."

Sans, who had lived in the Underground all his life and wasn't familiar with Hitler, or the referenced TV show, didn't respond.

The two sat there. In silence except for the sound of the wind, and the birds, and a passing airplane overhead. It was the other Sans who broke the quiet.

"you can stay here as long as you like. usually, when people fall through a crack in time, and it happens a lot with frisk around, they're returned pretty quickly, the universe doesn't like to be out of order. but you seem to have the determination needed to control where you land a little, if you put your mind to it."

Sans flinched at that, rubbing at his arms which ached still from his recent injections. DETERMINATION was a hell of a drug. He was trying to process what his double was telling him.

"so...your frisk has never killed anyone…"

"oh no, don't get me wrong, they had their timelines of destruction. but trust me, there's a reason for it. the kid has been through a lot. i can guarantee to you that they've served their time for anything wrong they did." The other Sans said, emptying a ketchup packet into his mouth.

"and you're defending them?" Sans spat, accusatory.

The other Sans shrugged, "if you're gonna play judge, then someone needs to play lawyer. I wager i'm older than you, know more, can make a good case, so it may as well be my job."

Sans took another sip, the drink was awful, really revolting, but he didn't care. "older than me huh...now i know how pappy felt when i pulled that reasoning on him…" He tried for a laugh and failed, downing the last of the flask in a mighty gulp, "how's papyrus?" he asked, his words slightly slurred now.

The other Sans frowned and snatched the flask, he hadn't expected his other self to flat out down the stuff, it wasn't exactly light, or easy to down for that matter, it was moonshine, basically rubbing alcohol with a slight flavor of lemon, something Undye had given him as a gift, but also something he couldn't stand. It had been in his jacket pocket for ages, too lazy to move it. "happy, thanks to frisk." The other Sans responded, pocketing the flask and cursing himself for offering a drink in the first place "he has the race car he's always wanted, tours the globe giving peace conferences with asgore and tori."

"Mmm" Sans buzzed, thinking hard "so, you say the 'kid' had a reason for pulling all this shit?" He muttered, "i...i want to talk to it then." he slurred, feeling the drink buzzing through him, "i want to know why it killed everyone."

The other Sans shook his head, "how about we wait til you're sober? the kiddo hates it when i'm drunk. or anyone for that matter. they have bad experiences with drunk adults, you wouldn't really be able to talk with them."

"wh-a-t?" Sans asked, lying down on the grass, "that fucking demon can't have bad experiences with nothin."

The other Sans nodded in understanding, then replied somberly, "bad experiences is all they have." He looked off to the home in the distance, worriedly. "we have a guest room you can sleep in, until the effects of the determination and the moonshine die down. you can rest. i need to keep an eye on frisk well tori's out. they shouldn't be left alone for too long."

"whyyy?" Sans slurred suspiciously, "so they don't fucking murder anyone with a plastic knife."

The other Sans sighed, "something like that." He muttered. "come on." the skeleton stood and offered a hand to Sans. When Sans didn't take it, the other Sans reached down and dragged his double to his feet.

"s-ooo," Sans barely took notice as the other Sans helped him to stand, "how many timelines has it been for ya?"

The other Sans shrugged, leading their double down the hill. "i think we're around reset number 60."

"ha, and the little bastard still won't die." Sans barked. The world was spinning around him. 52 battles of it not dying.

The other Sans would have rolled his eyes if he had them to roll. "it's not like they haven't tried. they literally can't die, or at least, stay dead. when they die, their powers refuse to let them go, dragging them back to their last save point over and over. they hold onto life as long as they can, but, when they die for good, get up to 80, 90, 100 years old, they just find themself living their last few dying days again and again until they can't take it, they reset."

Hearing this, Sans froze, "that's fucked up." he hiccuped. "so their stupid powers keep time from moving? destroy memories? destroy lives?"

"ya…" The other Sans trailed. "but i try not to hold it against them, they do that themself."

They were at the house now. The Sanses opened up the door, and were greeted, not with a quiet and serene home, but a blast of water to the face and a chorus of giggles.

"Ha, prank king, take that!" A taunting voice cheered.

Behind the attack was a child with a super soaker. They had a green and yellow striped sweater, an all too familiar locket, and glowing red eyes that sparkled with triumph.

Sans's eye lit bright blue once more.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Surprise! It's a resurrection timeline! (in the Undertale RP community, a resurrection timeline refers to lines where Frisk successfully SAVEs Chara, and Chara is human.)**

 **I hope you wonderful readers liked this chapter! I know how popular cliffhangers are, they are 'hip' with the 'kidz' in 'da hizzhouse' (am I cool yet Fresh?!).**

 **Anyway, I'll maybe update this at some point, I dunno. Tell me what you thought below!**


	2. Chapter 2

**No real content warnings here, except for maybe slight Sans abuse. That poor skele has to deal with so much shit. But he makes a good father figure for my poor little murder children.**

* * *

Sans passed a glance between his scarf wearing double and the ex-demon.

Chara's victorious grin had faltered into a image of confusion, and an almost hidden, but not quite flash of fear when they saw the geno Sans's utter rage. The other Sans saw this and moved quickly, taking the super soaker and leaving it on the porch before grabbing Chara's hand and leading them inside, away from his drunk double. He was still drenched in water, and it dripped off his hoodie and onto the carpeted floor.

"yup, you sure got me kid." He said with an annoyed, flustered tone about him, "i mean, it wasn't as good as my pranks, no finesse, but a start in the right direction. but I have to ask, 'water' you thinking? that was a dumb move, you could have started a fight."

Chara giggled a little, "Good, I'm bored, it's been a long 'spray'." they grinned at the skeleton.

Sans looked back grimmly, when he spoke next, he kept his voice light, but there was an edge to it, "heh, good joke kid. how bout you go hang out with frisk for awhile? let me handle the other sans. you do know where Frisk is, right?"

"Y-ya," Chara was not comfortable with having their hand held, or with being pulled around, or with being told what to do. They tried to move their hand out of Sans's grasp, but it was no use. They were only an LV 1 child. "They went to our room. They told me that there was another timeline jumper and I was gonna prank you anyway, so I figured why not prank you both?"

The skeleton sighed. "alright, well, it would be cool if you could hang out in your room for awhile."

"Don't tell me what to do." Chara huffed. They were in the hall now.

"don't be stupid." Sans returned. Chara glared daggers at him, he let go of Chara's hand as the pair came to a door in the hall with a 'Danger, Do Not Enter' sign nailed on it. The font was made to look like dripping blood. Under the sign was a purple sticky note shaped like a cat, with the word 'please' written in swirly handwriting. "i'll handle this, okay?" Sans said, " just play with frisk, if this goes well, we can go out for dinner after, alright?"

"Fine." Chara muttered, shoving their hands in their pocket and stomping off to their room. They threw open the door before slamming it shut.

Sans took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. What would he do with that kid? Chara was reckless as all hell, listened to no one, and was firmly attached to Frisk. This all meant that Sans couldn't just ignore them. He gave a final glare at the door, hoping that the kid would stay put for once.

Then he sauntered back down the hall where he found his double.

Geno Sans was stumbling around the living room, taking note of all the photos that hung on the walls. There was a serene looking photo of Toriel in a sundress and gardening hat. She was lounging on a park bench. In the distance was Frisk and Chara on a swing set, in striped tank tops and shorts, with golden sunlight filtering across the field, a snapshot image of a perfect summer's day.

There was also a class photo, Frisk and Chara in the front row among a mass of young monsters, all giving giving goofy looks to the camera. Toriel stood to the side, smiling proudly at her class.

There was a picnic scene, Papyrus, Sans, Frisk, Undyne, and Chara on a checkered blanket in the grass. Frisk was waving to the camera with one hand and holding a sandwich in another. Chara was giving Frisk bunny ears, Sans was giving Chara bunny ears, Undyne was giving Papyrus and Sans bunny ears, they were all caught mid laugh.

Geno Sans looked offended at the photos, like the inanimate objects had personally assaulted him.

"Sooo," He slurred, "you're buddy buddy with the murderers."

Sans watched the other carefully, "well, I've known them for awhile," He informed, "60 timelines now, they're old friends."

"i didn't know they could make friends." Geno sneered.

Sans only shrugged, "anyone can make friends. anyway would you like to see the guest room?"

"why are there two of them?" Geno asked in a quick bark.

"that's a long story." Sans began guiding his double from the room, walking slowly from it as he spoke. Geno Sans went to catch up. "chara was a demon who followed frisk around in the underground, ghost of one of the dead children. frisk used the magic of their SOUL, plus their power over spacetime to bring them back to life."

"bah, SOUL magic." Geno Sans sneered, "that's what locked to monsters underground to begin with, humans only hurt with that shit."

Sans shrugged at that.

"so, how many people has the demon killed?"

Sans gave a dry chuckle, there was no humor to it, "in this timeline, just themself." He said, deciding to not say more.

"i'm 'ssuming that that thing took over frisk and killed shit in my timeline?" Geno asked.

"why would you say that?" Sans responded calmly, not surprised that his double had put 2 and 2 together.

"don't play dumb wi' me, 'm drunk, not an idiot. i know cuz o' its eyes, i know those fucking eyes anywhere, i've watched the life drain out of them more than once."

Sans only nodded, the pair were at the guest room now, he opened the door and walked inside. Geno followed.

"well, you're not wrong." He said, "frisk RESET one day after a peaceful run, first big RESET they ever performed, and that time around they gave control over to chara."

"why?" Geno demanded.

"fear." Sans responded. "frisk died a lot their first run around, and when they RESET, well...do you remember the first time we summoned the blasters?"

"'course." Geno responded, flumping onto the guest bed, "put a hole in the wall, nearly destroyed dad's couch."

Sans nodded, "it was like that. frisk didn't know exactly what the RESET button would do-"

"excuse me?"

"oh, right, their power manifests in the form of a button. anyway, they hit it out of curiosity and found themself back at square one again. they remembered all the times they had died at the hands of their friends and they got scared, they didn't want to do it again. guess they figured that if their SOUL was just a little stronger, if they had a bit more HP they wouldn't have to die anymore. but they couldn't do it themself, so they had chara do it. chara went too far."

"why?" Geno asked.

"why what, exactly?"

"why'd they give control to a demon?"

"frisk is...a good kid, they'll do a lot to help people and they honestly care, but between frisk and chara...i have to say, i trust chara a lot more. chara is blunt, to the point, doesn't lie, but frisk? they don't have too much trouble w' using people. they didn't want to die, saw an opportunity, and they had a demon do their dirty work."

"disgraceful." Geno spat.

"self preservation of sanity." Sans returned.

"why'd the demon kill then? why'd they do it to begin with? why'd they go so far?" Geno fired off his questions, but it was clear that he was barely holding onto reality, feeling the pull of emotional, physical, and chemical exhaustion on his bones.

Sans scowled, not at Geno, but at a memory, "that's something that only they can say."

"then le' m' talk tah them." Geno slurred.

"later." Sans promised. "you need sleep first."

Suddenly a crash came from somewhere in the house. The kitchen maybe? Sans let out a heavy sigh. He knew those two wouldn't stay put. "i should take care of that." He said, throwing a blanket at his double. "i'll bring you pj's in a sec. stay put please." He teleported out of the room, leaving Geno to his own devices.

Geno Sans scowled as his double disappeared, he stood from the bed. No way in hell he was 'staying put'.

* * *

 **Well, there is chapter 2. Hope you liked it! Thank you to anyone who's read this far, I love you all. :)**

* * *

 **Answering** **my fan mail:**

 ** _Someone XD_ : Thank you so much for the review! I hope your friends like it, and I hope you're enjoying yourself so far!**

 _ **CrystalShards64:**_ **Chapter 2 delivered! Hope you're enjoying this little tale so far. As for whether Chara is good or bad, well, it's a grey zone, we'll get more into it down the line, it's complicated. Thank you so much for the review!**

 _ **ahilstrom1:**_ **Nah dude, YOU'RE the awesome one. Thank you for reading this far, I really appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Content warnings: I fucking curse a lot. Also, very minor depictions of blood. On with the show!**

* * *

Sans teleported into the kitchen where he found Frisk and Chara worriedly looking down at a metal object on the floor. Frisk had their attention on the object, well Chara seemed to be stuffing something up their sleeves. Sans was by the door, and knew that the pair couldn't see him. He simply watched, not wanting to get involved until he understood what they were doing.

"Is it broken?" Chara asked.

Frisk shook their head lightly. "No." they said. The child took a knee, observing the fallen object. It looked fine enough, maybe just a little dented. "Poor toaster." Frisk muttered, picking it up the appliance and placing it on the counter before plugging it back in. Then Frisk turned, reaching for an empty spot on the counter. When their hand found only air, they blinked confusedly, "Pop tarts?" They inquired.

Chara tilted their head in response. "Huh?" They asked, batting their eyes innocently.

Frisk signed out 'Where are the pop tarts?'

"Oh, I don't know," Chara made a dramatic motion with their hands, "maybe right...here?!" With a flick of their wrist the young demon appeared to pull the sugary treats out of thin air. Sans saw, from his angle that the things were hidden in Chara's sleeves.

Frisk clapped their hands together delightedly, signing out the words 'you're getting good at that'.

"Thank you." Chara gave a low, animated bow, slipping the poptarts in the toaster as they did, and trying to hide the quick movement from Frisk.

Frisk giggled, blush coloring their face, they signed, 'Don't tell me you dropped the toaster as a distraction.' Frisk raised their eyebrow tauntingly.

Chara shrugged, standing up straight, hiding their empty hands behind their back, and giving their most charming smile, "A magician never reveals their secrets. Anyway, let's get these cooked quick before Sans shows up." They snapped their fingers and gestured towards the toaster.

Frisk saw the pop tarts, which seemed to magically appear in the machine, and giggled. They had heard Chara slip the treats into the toaster, but decided not to say anything about it. Chara loved it when they pulled off a trick, and Frisk didn't want to rain on that parade. Frisk turned the toaster on, and the pair waited.

Sans chose that moment to walk out of the shadows, with his hands in his pockets, and an easy going grin on his face, "now I know _you_ both know, that toriel put a household ban on sugary snacks."

Frisk froze, guilt written on their features. They turned to Sans and tried for an apologetic smile.

Chara, on the other hand, turned on their heel, giving Sans a crooked grin. "Sans!" They said his name charmingly, like they were seeing an old friend for the first time in weeks, "I never took you for a fuddy duddy, buddy. They're just pop tarts." They shrugged, hopping up onto the counter and swinging their feet.

"mmm hmm," Sans studied the ex-demon, "well, i'd be a hypocrite if i told people to eat right. heh, do what you want, just don't break anything."

Frisk nodded, eyes cast down with shame.

Chara laughed, "We'll try our best." They said confidently.

A 'pop' sounded from behind the pair and Chara grabbed the treats in a single swoop, sliding off the counter in the same motion. They handed a pop tart to Frisk and took one for themself. The things smelled like chocolate. "Come on Frisk, let's go play outside." It was a little after noon now and the sun was up in the sky.

Sans watched the pair as they opened the back door and went out to play. When they were out of sight he took a steadying breath and walked to his room, beginning the search for some pajamas. He found a pair and hauled them back to the guest room.

When he opened the guest room door however, he found that his double was gone.

"Shit." He cursed.

He dumped the PJ's on the bed and began searching the house. His own room was clear, so was the kid's room, so were Tori's and Pappy's rooms. The bathrooms, no. The kitchen, no. Then finally he found himself, passed out drunk on the couch in the living room.

Sans stopped and observed the other, feeling as if he were looking into a twisted mirror, or perhaps a metaphor for the greater meaning of life. The day had been surreal to say the least.

He threw a blanket over his double and went to find an activity that could occupy his time, namely, sitting at the kitchen table and reading a book.

He was 3 hours into his new quantum mechanics book when the kids returned.

Chara was soaked, they had mud in their hair and clothes that hung about them, dripping and sloshing with water. They were supporting an injured Frisk who was bleeding from their palms and knees with branches and pine needles tangled in their bangs.

Sans looked up from his book as the duo stumbled into the kitchen. "you two are a mess." He observed conversationally.

Chara grunted at the statement, "Thank you captain obvious." They spat. The words had a nasty ring about them, but Sans thought he heard something in them, Vulnerability? Maybe. Fear? Absolutely. Not fear of something, but for something.

Frisk made the sign for 'band aid' and Chara nodded.

"Alright, sit down, don't hurt yourself. I'm gonna go put on some dry clothes, and get a first aid kit, I'll be right back. Promise." Chara assured, giving Frisk a quick kiss on the forehead and gesturing to the seat next to Sans.

Frisk took a seat and Chara went for the hall, slipping on their way and nearly face planting into the floor. Thankfully Sans caught them, using his magic to stop the kid from falling, and levitating them to stand on their feet. "Thanks." Chara muttered, blushing in embarrassment as they regained their balance and continued on their quest.

"so, what happened?" Sans asked Frisk when the other child had left the room.

'Truth or dare' Frisk signed, frowning a little as they flexed their scuffed palms. 'I dared Chara to jump in the lake, and then things got out of hand.'

"i'll say." Sans chuckled, returning to his book. "last time you two played that game, one of you ended up with purple hair."

Frisk giggled. "Pur-purple ev'thing." They corrected, attempting to speak.

"oh, that's right." Sans snorted, remembering Chara, who had in vain attempted to wash the hair dye out. It was the cheap type and they ended up dying the bathroom sink, their own face, and the floor a bright shade of purple. "which timeline was that again?" Sans asked, far too casually.

"Last one." Frisk said, brushing some dirt off their hands.

Chara returned soon with the first aid kit. They were in much dryer clothes now, wearing a striped tank top and a pair of shorts. Their hair was still damp with clumps of mud in it, but they didn't seem to care. "Alright Frisk let me see." They said softly, pulling up a chair and taking out an antiseptic towel. "This will sting."

"I can cl-ean...it." Frisk said slowly.

Chara only shook their head, "No, this is my fault." They said. "Let me."

Frisk showed Chara their bleeding palms and Chara wiped the blood away. Frisk didn't even flinch when the alcohol smelling rag made contact to the scratch.

"so, how'd ya get hurt exactly?" Sans asked again, aiming for quiet conversation.

Chara raised their brow, "Oh what, the pine needles and branches aren't enough clues to figure it out, Sherlock?" They huffed, putting a band aid over Frisk's scratch. "I dared them to climb a tree, and they fell. Duh." Chara said the words to Sans with a quick irritated tone, but despite this, they held Frisk's hand carefully like it was a wounded bird.

"alright, alright, I was just asking, jeeze." Sans defended.

It was just then that the trio heard footsteps. Frisk and Sans turned to look, Chara just moved on to cleaning Frisk's knee.

Geno walked into the kitchen, he no longer looked vengeful and angry but tired and withdrawn. The DETERMINATION had worn off, Sans noticed.

Geno didn't address anyone. He just went to the sink and grabbed a cup from the dish rack, getting himself some water before sitting at the opposite end of the table.

Sans felt a little tense at this, but he kept his cool. If a fight broke out he could stop it with relative ease. When DETERMINATION wears off, it leaves the user unstable physically for awhile. His double couldn't stay in a fight for long, but then again, neither could Frisk or Chara.

Chara put the last band aid on Frisk and stood, giving their friend a quick, protective hug. "Don't scare me like that again." They muttered, utter worry in their voice mixed with guilt and shame.

"Kay." Frisk responded.

Geno watched with wary eyes. He didn't trust either of the children as far as he could throw them. But maybe that was a bad measurement, he could throw them both pretty far.

Sans looked at the clock, it was only 3pm. "how bout you two get cleaned up." He suggested, "get the mud out of your hair, and we'll go out for burgers in a couple hours."

The two nodded and went to vacate the room, Chara heading for the right, to the bathroom attached to the hall, and Frisk going to the left, to the bathroom connected to Tori's room.

"don't forget to bring a towel!" Sans reminded as they left.

The two yelled back "Kay!"

Frisk disappeared into the hall, but Chara hung back when they reached the door. They turned and passed a glance to Geno, who had his back to them, then to the hall where Frisk had gone. A fierce emotion was radiating off the kid, Sans noted. They opened their mouth as if to say something to their new house guest.

Sans shook his head firmly, making eye contact with the kid.

Chara's red eyes narrowed, flaring with something like anger but not quite. They closed their mouth, turned on their heel, and disappeared beyond the kitchen door.

This left Sans with Geno once again. Sans returned his eye sockets to his book. "how'd you sleep?" He asked.

"like shit." Geno responded, "that couch hurt my bones." He took a sip of his water.

Sans shrugged, "you had the option to sleep in a bed." He reminded him.

"shut up." Geno huffed.

There was a brief stretch of silence only interrupted by the steady tick of the clock, the slurp of water, the rattle of bones, and the sound of a page turning.

Sans broke the silence, "ya wanna go out for burgers with me and the kiddos?" He asked.

"why the fuck not." Geno returned.

* * *

 **Alright, chapter 3 up and done. This chapter was sort of a quiet bit meant to show off the kids better and to take a break from the underlying drama of the last chapter. For anyone who's wondering, no, the focus of this story is not romantic, it's not a ship fic, but yes, I do low-key ship Frisk and Chara (I RPed for both of them, and shipping just sort of happened). I hope you guys are enjoying this so far. Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or comments or criticism leave me a review below!**

* * *

 **Answering My Fan Mail**

 **CrystalShards64: I'm glad you liked chapter 2! I hope this one was alright. Thank you so much for following, and I hope you're enjoying this!**

 **ngrey651: Fantastic observations! I agree with you completely. The monsters are utterly hypocritical, and people always judge the kids too harshly, (especially the fandom). Some of the stuff Geno Sans said in the last chapter though was a result from drinking too much, he's kinda a nasty drunk. But as for him being judged, well, he's judging himself, literally. Thank you for reading this far! Hope you stay with me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Content Warnings: Some cursing, some magic tricks, some character development, and TBH the fluff before the angst-tornado that will be chapter 5.**

* * *

"Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock!" Chara's words rang out into the quiet afternoon, "HA! scissors decapitates lizard, I get shotgun."

To this, Frisk responded with a sad, beaten look, and Chara backed down.

"Aww, Frisk, don't give me those puppy dog eyes...fine, you can have shotgun on the way there, but I get it on the way back, kay?"

Frisk tackled Chara in a hug. "Kay." They responded, giving Chara a kiss on the cheek. Chara blushed deeply.

"sorry kiddos, but I get shotgun, or at least, other me does." Sans spoke, his hands in his hoodie pocket, and his slippers pressed against the pavement of the driveway.

"Oh, alright," Chara sighed wrapping their hands around Frisk's, "I'd rather sit by Frisk anyway.

Frisk giggled and gave Chara a quick peck on the lips.

Chara held Frisk closer, a devious smile on their face.

"get a room you two." Sans jested.

Geno just stood on the front porch, sizing up the trio. He looked thoroughly disgusted. "is that a minivan?" He demanded of Sans as the two humans crawled into the back seat, "what happened to pappy's dream of getting a sports car? What happened to YOU?"

Sans chuckled at his younger self, pulling the keys from his hoodie pocket, "pappy has his car, probably driving it right now in fact. and me, well, i grew up, kid." These words gave geno some pause, he glared at Sans. Sans pretended not to notice. "everyone in, next stop, grillby's." He called. Sans slipped behind the wheel. With a sigh, Geno walked to the van and sat in passengers.

The car turned on and started to move. Geno could hear one of the 'kids' giggle, and he passed a glance back. Frisk was leaning on Chara, the pair were holding hands, whispering something Geno couldn't make out. He decided to try to talk with them. Or...maybe he was just trying to start a fight.

"so," He began, twisting to get the children's attention, "are you two just gonna make bedroom eyes at each other all night? cuz i'll admit, it's creeping me out."

Chara looked angry for a brief second, but then their expression changed to something like glee. They snickered, leaning forward and cocking their eyebrow in a challenging manner. "No. We also plan on taking over the world tonight, finalizing our blueprints for the new government, and we might even make it TO the bedroom." They said that last part in a flirty way, snuggling closer to Frisk, and grinning when Geno looked uncomfortable, "Are you just gonna be a shitfaced drunk all night?" They returned.

Frisk's eyes went big and they began signing something that Geno didn't bother to read.

He was too enraged. "now listen here, you little shits, i-"

"OK!" Sans interrupted, "if you guys start fighting, i'll turn this car around and ground every last one of you to seperate bedrooms. understood?" He eyed Frisk and Chara in the rear view.

"Yes Sans." Chara said, in an overly sweet tone.

Frisk only nodded.

Geno faced forward in his seat and stared out the windshield.

The ride was silent for a second. Then Chara spoke again.

"You know, other Sans, when you're this close to someone," They snuggled up to Frisk, "You're in a position that theater people call 'kiss or kill'. You'll either smootch the person you're close to, or knife them. Cool right?" With that they planted a kiss on Frisk's lips. When they were done they beamed back at Geno. "If you wanted to come over here, and, definitely, if you ever said anything mean to Frisk again, I could demonstrate the other side of kiss, or kill." Their face twisted into a thing of nightmares.

"i'd like to see you try." Geno growled back.

"how about some music?" Sans intervene, blasting the radio. Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' came on, but no one sang. This was followed by Train's 'Drops of jupiter' And Katy Perry's 'Firework.' As the song played it's last note, and the DJs cut to commercial, Sans parked the car. He had stopped outside a warm tavern

Conversations bubbled from the windows, outside a group of monsters, and a few humans spoke. They were smoking cigarettes and cracking jokes. The sign out front read 'GRILLBY'S'

Sans and Geno got out of the car, Frisk and Chara followed.

It didn't take long for the group to get attention.

As they walked up to the wooden doors, someone called out "Frisk Dreemurr!" A woman with a clipboard and a hat that read 'PRESS' hobbled up to them. She was heavy set, with dark skin, black hair, and was wearing a bright green dress and 3 inch heels. "Oh my goodness, I didn't know that the Monster Ambassador would be here today! What a wonderful surprise! I'm in town doing a piece on 'Monster Culture' and YOU are a big part of it! Can I get an interview?" She clicked a pen and batted her eyelashes.

"Uhhh," Frisk muttered, they started signing out, 'not now please, I'm here with my family' but the woman didn't understand.

"What did she say?" The woman asked Sans.

"they said no." Sans returned. "leave us alone."

The woman pouted, "Fine. Here's my card hon," They handed it to Frisk, "I'll get an interpreter at the office, and we can do the interview later, alright dearie?"

Sans just grabbed Frank's hand and led them away.

"what was that about?" Geno asked as the group stepped into the warm bar.

"eh, she was a reporter. reporters are vultures." Sans returned.

As the young skeleton stepped into the warm, familiar, but new, babble of Grillby's, Geno couldn't help but marvel.

Humans and monsters were scattered across the place, existing in harmony. More or less. The monsters, Geno was fine with, but the humans? They were just bizarre. One was in a full body skeleton suit, taking pictures with every monster he could find. Others were groups of young adults, and kids who couldn't be older than teenagers. They were kicking back beers and chatting. Most of the humans wore all black, some had gauged earrings, others wore jean shorts over ripped tights, and almost all of them reeked of desperation and attention seeking.

"What's that about?" Geno asked, gesturing to the human patrons.

Sans chuckled, "it's summer. tourist season, and this is a monster bar. those guys are monster fans. media calls them 'monsties' don't worry too much about it though, the trend dies down about ten years after the reset."

"I'd say five-ish years." Chara chimed.

'Seven' Frisk signed.

"Seven." Sans agreed.

As everyone sat down, the skeleton-suit-wearing human walked up to them. Upfront Geno could discern more of the kid's face. He had big glasses, red hair, pasty pale skin, and huge, green, starstruck eyes. "OHMYGOSH" He fanboyed, "Is that really ambassador Frisk? Can I get your autograph?" He pulled a pen from his man satchel that hung around his waist, then frowned, "Shoot, I don't have anything for you to sign...WAIT sign my face!"

He gave the pen to Frisk who chuckled and turned on their stool. They signed the boy's forehead.

The boy was ecstatic, he pulled out his phone and ran between the bar stools, snapping a picture with Frisk, the two skeletons, Chara, and himself. Then he thanked the group and wandered off, leaving the bar to go terrorize the cigarette smokers.

"that was...disturbing." Geno huffed.

"he's a disturbing guy." Sans returned.

"you know him?" Geno asked, flabbergasted.

Chara giggled, "Ya, we've met in in more than a few timelines. Get this, his name is Jerry."

Geno actually cracked a smile, "human Jerry." He muttered.

Frisk and Chara laughed.

That's when Grillby arrived to take orders.

"hey hot stuff." Sans flirted.

Grillby looked from Sans to Geno, then back to Sans. His face was put upon, almost annoyed. It read 'oh god, there's two of them.'

Geno couldn't help himself, seeing his old friend always cheered him up. "you look smoking today, grillbs." He grinned.

Grilby only sighed and got out a paper and pencil, a clear sign that he was ready to take an order.

"four burgers, two waters, and two cups of ketchup my good in-friend-o, put it on my tab please." Sans snickered.

Grilby wrote down the order, and passed the note to the kitchens, before leaving to take more orders.

Geno tapped his bony fingers on the counter. A awkward silence fell on the group. Once again, Chara broke it.

"You guys wanna see a magic trick?" They asked.

Frisk clapped their hands enthusiastically, Sans looked up lazily, Geno looked on with suspicion.

Chara dug around in their pocket a little and grabbed a quarter. "So this little trick is a bit of coin magic, I can make this coin DISAPPEAR!" They placed the coin on the counter and looked around, spotting the salt shaker and picking it up. "I will need this!" They put the salt shaker on top of the coin, "Annnndddd," They furrowed their brow as if they weren't sure what to do next, "Oh! And this." They picked up a napkin and pressed it on top of the shaker, covering the thing with it. "Now all I have to do is rub the coin with the bottom of the salt shaker," They did so, "And, PRESTO!" They moved the shaker away, revealing...that the coin was still there.

"amazing." Geno rolled his eye sockets.

"Hold on," Chara insisted, "I can make this work!" Again they rubbed the coin with the salt shaker, muttering, "Presto, please please please disappear."In a quick movement they pulled the shaker away and slapped their hand over the place where the coin was, then, slowly, very slowly, they raised their hand only to see...that the coin was still there.

"Curses!" They exclaimed. In a burst of anger, they slammed their hand on the napkin-covered salt shaker, and the napkin crumpled as if nothing was under it. The salt shaker had disappeared under the napkin!

Frisk and Sans clapped, Geno was impressed. Begrudgingly so.

"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind." Chara chuckled.

Grillby came back with the burgers, and the drinks.

Sans smiled and held up his ketchup bottle. "i would like to propose a toast," He said to the group, "to human jerry, magic tricks, and new friends."

Chara and Frisk clicked drinks with Sans. After a moment of hesitation, Geno joined in.

Things were looking up.

* * *

 **Okay, okay, it's a little shippy. Like...really shippy. But I can't help myself. I'm Charisk trash in my SOUL! The next chapter will be angst incarnate. This was fluffy, just sort of setting a couple character details up, calming Geno down, stuff like that. Thank you for reading, please follow, fave and review!**

* * *

 **Answering My Fan mail!**

 **Crystalshards64: Cry no more! Chapter 4 has arrived! Thank you for your review, you're awesome!**

 **Mageblood: Thank you for your interest, I hope you enjoyed chapter 4.**


	5. An Interlude of Nightmares

**Content Warnings: This whole thing is a content warning.**

* * *

 _The golden hall glimmered with something like sunlight. The child held the dagger. They lunged at Geno, slashing with all their might. Geno jumped away, laughing. Tears streamed down his face, he kept laughing._

 _Chara stood in a patch of grass. It was raining. They were staring at another person...theirself. A demon version of theirself. Their double's face was immersed in black goo that oozed downward, hitting the grass. Where the goo dripped, buttercups sprung forth from the dirt. The demon chara just smiled. The goo began to drip from open slashes on the demon's arms._ _The flowers that grew began tangling around Chara's feet._

" _DON'T YOU EVER GIVE UP?" Geno screamed, his voice a pathetic croak. The child looked up at this, but their face had changed. Now, staring back at Geno was his own face, merged onto the child's body. The permanent smile was unsettling. "no." The thing responded. It put forth its arms, which were covered in little needle pinpricks. "i'm determined to kill you."_

 _The rain felt like it was drowning Chara. The buttercups wound up their legs, grabbing them, pulling them down into the dirt. Chara's double just kept smiling as its body succumbed to the black goop, the demon Chara began to melt. Chara kept sinking into the ground, they couldn't move, they screamed. 'Hopes and dreams, hopes and dreams, hopes and dreams.' The flowers seemed to say. And then, a voice, right in Chara's ear, "Hurry up and die, so we can see the sun." Chara stopped sinking, although they were half encased in leaves and mud. They couldn't move. The flowers were winding their way into their mouth. There was a knife in their hand._

" _THEN...do it." Geno began to cry, although he was still laughing, he couldn't stop. "with pleasure." the thing responded. It jumped forward, and swung the knife. Geno stayed perfectly still as the thing dug the knife into him._

" _Doooo ittttt." Chara's melting double encouraged as it fell to the floor, becoming no more than a puddle on the ground. Chara steeled their nerves, they knew what their only option was, what their only option had ever been. With DETERMINATION, they shoved the knife into their gut._

Geno woke up in a cold sweat.

Chara woke up crying.

On both sides there was a pause, a moment of hesitation, fear, and uncertainty. And then, they both decided that going back to sleep wasn't worth the trouble. They stood from their beds and went to find a midnight snack.

* * *

 **Things are about to get real. So, I wasn't sure if this was clearly indicated, but the paragraphs were alternating between the nightmares of Geno Sans and Chara. If you thought that that concept was too vague, please tell me, I can edit. Or if you thought that the surreal back and forth was interesting and good, please tell me that too. In fact, please tell me your general thoughts, good or bad. I could really use the feedback. So please hit that button, and have a nice day!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Content Warnings: MENTIONS OF SELF HARM. A real true and honest description of it. Also, talk of suicide, and some cursing.**

* * *

It was raining. Chara awoke to a pitter patter on the window, and someone wrapping them in a hug.

Frisk had crawled into bed with Chara at some point in the night, curling up next to their love. Through the SOUL link Chara shared with Frisk, they could feel their companion sending them soothing emotions, a silent, half asleep plea for the ex-demon to go back to sleep. Chara managed to slip away carefully, standing and giving Frisk a kiss on the forehead.

In their sleep, Frisk muttered something like 'Char Char, where are you going?" But it sounded more like "Carar wher'ya go'n"

Chara gave Frisk a sad smile through tear blurred eyes, before grabbing a lone blanket off Frisk's bed,wrapping it around their shoulders like a cloak and leaving the room. The ex-demon shuffled down the dark hallway, listening to the noises of the house and the storm outside. The stairs creaked as Chara walked down them. The wind seemed to bellow some demonic battle cry. Thunder rumbled in the distance like a looming beast. Chara pulled their blanket tighter around their shoulders to fend off the cold.

They soon came to the kitchen. They always got a snack after nightmares, it fended off further reflection on their dreams that would otherwise drive them insane.

As they flicked on the kitchen light, which blinked a few times before settling on a dim glow, they found themself eyeing the knives.

The rain outside seemed louder.

They remembered how in their dream they had stabbed the knife through their stomach. They remembered how the black goop had oozed out of their double's open wounds.

The phantom cuts that once criss crossed up their arms seemed to ache. It had been a literal lifetime, maybe 2, since they had dug a blade into their skin and watched the blood drip down. Self harm, for them was a verification that they were alive, a punishment, and a release of emotional pain through physical pain all rolled into one self pitying, self empowering, self hating act. It was what they deserved, but it also grounded them, and reminded them of what they lived for. And, it was also a terrible addiction.

They thought for a second, simply staring at the knives. They hated themself, right? Were they becoming a demon again? Maybe that was excuse enough to...no. That would be regressive on their part.

They took a deep breath and let their dark thoughts go. They were alive, they were here, they didn't need proof of that.

But sometimes that rhetoric of 'alive and here' was hard to believe. Did they really exist in a timeline that could be so easily erased? Did their existence matter to begin with? Was life even worth living if in an instant it could all RESET? Were they just part of some cosmic game that had no true ending other than death? Their thoughts had morphed from self-destructive to a safe, if not depressing, train of existentiality, one of the oldest distractions in recorded history. They could live with that.

With all of existence in mind, Chara reached for an even older distraction, arguably mankind's first; food. An entire king sized chocolate bar, to be exact.

They stood on their tiptoes and retrieved it from the top shelf of the pantry. They turned on their heel, only to freeze in fear. A figure was grinning at them, Sans. Or, the other Sans to be exact. The one that hated them.

Chara's short shock changed to hardened hatred. "What do you want?" The grumped, trying to sound scary, but that look was ruined by their tear stained cheeks.

*ketchup.* Geno said evenly. *and, a chat with you, if i'm being honest.*

"Fuck off." Chara offered.

*what's with the hate, kid? thought you were innocent here.* Geno walked for the fridge, grabbing a bottle of ketchup before turning to Chara, his eye lit blue. *unless my double was lying to me. i wouldn't put it past him, he, and i, really, we're real scumbags, huh?*

A small flame of rage lit in Chara. They glared at Geno, "Don't talk about Sans like that asshole, or I'll-"

*stab me?* If Geno had eyelashes, he'd be batting them in mock innocence. *i saw the way you were looking at those knives. i'm betting you're still a killer. so tell me,* He took a swig of ketchup, *who'd ya wanna cut?*

Chara scratched at their arms. Tears returned to their eyes. They turned away, flicking off the lights as they left.

Outside lightning flashed followed by a clap of thunder.

*awww, you gonna go cry?* Asked Geno over the wind, teleporting in front of Chara in a flash of blue light and blocking their path to the stairs.

"You're drunk."Chara's voice was choked.

*stone sober.* Geno let on. *i'm not leaving until we talk. i'll let you have the first question, if ya want.*

Chara crinkled the wrapper on their chocolate bar. "Why are you bugging me?" They asked.

*had a dream where you killed me. couldn't sleep. my turn, why are you awake?*

"Had the same dream." Chara spat.

*oh, really? how'd i get cha? gaster blaster? impalement?* Geno sounded cocky.

"N-No!" Chara held back angry tears. More thunder sounded. They felt deflated, and empty. "I had a dream where I killed me. Okay? And when I was looking at those fucking knives I was thinking about how nice it would be to cut my wrists open. Is THAT what you were looking for? Can I go to bed now?" They barked the words.

Geno was taken aback. His eye stopped glowing. *oh.* He said.

Chara's shoulders shook. They felt exhausted.

*okay, maybe i was a bit harsh. what i really want to ask you...what i've been meaning to ask, is, why? why did you kill everyone?*

"Oh yes, that question isn't harsh at all." Sarcasm dripped from Chara's voice.

Geno shifted, *please,* there was something genuine in his voice. Something gentle. *i need to know. for my sanity. please.*

Chara stared at the floor. "Fine." they said. Outside the storm died down a bit. Chara sat on the carpet. Geno sat on the raised step. "I did it...because...after the first RESET, Frisk was scared. They had died so many times the first time around. They didn't want to die anymore. They knew that...if they had more LV, they could survive. But they were too kind to hurt anyone. I wanted to protect them so bad. So I took over."

*i gathered that much.* Geno said, he took another swig of ketchup. *maybe one or two levels would keep you two alive...but, why so many? why kill everyone?*

Guilt and shame overtook Chara. "Because I couldn't stop. I didn't want to. I was a ghost before. When you're a ghost...Sans...you slowly lose the ability to feel. The good emotions go first. Love, joy, whatever that...feeling in your chest is when you laugh…" They placed their unopened chocolate on the floor and hugged their knees. "You lose the ability to form complex thoughts. You're single minded. You're devoted to one thing. That first thing was being Frisk's guide, helping them through the Underground, reading them every little sign, telling them everything I knew. And the second, was protecting them. Destroying for them. Erasing the world for them. I was their knight. But that wasn't the only reason…"

Geno just studied Chara, waiting.

"I was addicted. Every time I killed...I felt alive. I felt this surge of strength, something like joy but wilder, intoxicating. Killing made me feel...almost human. And when my LV went up," they got a wistful look on their face, "indescribable. I could laugh again. I didn't want to give it up. I was powerful. I was bloodthirsty. I was a true demon. I didn't want to stop."

They were rocking back and forth. Their talking became obscured with sobs "And there were so many times where...where I hated myself after. There were so many times when I wanted to die, but I couldn't. We couldn't. We just kept dying, we just kept coming back. Death was meaningless, Sans! Killing was nothing. We died all the time. The people who we loved killed us and we couldn't do anything but _forgive_. It was torture. And when Frisk...when Frisk..."

"Chara!"

Geno and Chara both looked up.

Frisk looked down at them from the top of the stairs. For a second their form was illuminated by a flash of lightning. There was a pause. Thunder boomed.

"Fr-Frisk..love, you were supposed to be sleeping." Chara whimpered.

"Chara, pl-ease, go to bed." Frisk stuttered, gauging that it was too dark to read sign language.

Chara wiped their tears, grabbed their chocolate, and stood. "Okay." They said simply. They walked past Geno, who let them go. Chara moved to the top of the stairs slowly and wrapped Frisk in a hug.

"All...in the past." Frisk murmured, running their hands through Frisk's hair. "I love you."

"You're all I have." Chara admitted, crying full on now.

"I kn-kn-kn-ow." Frisk said. "I'll...al-ways be there. No mat-t-er what." Chara melted into Frisk's embrace. They were so tired. They felt light headed. They could feel Frisk send soothing emotions at them, and they couldn't help but fall asleep wrapped in Frisk's arms.

When they woke up the next morning, curled up next to Frisk, the sun shining through the windows and the birds singing a morning tune, the night before felt like a bad dream.

The unopened chocolate bar on the nightstand reminded them that it wasn't.

* * *

 **Well, that's chapter 5. I think it's safe to say that it's a touch darker then my usual affair. Should I change the rating?**

* * *

 **Answering my fan-mail:**

 **The Rude Girl: Thank you so much! i hope I continued to satisfy all your shipping needs.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Content warnings: Not much, really. Some casual cursing.**

* * *

For the second time in 48 hours, Geno woke up on a couch. An uncomfortable one at that. He sat up, stretching and yawning and taking in his surroundings. It was bright outside, clearly closer to noon then any respectable hour one would think an adult would wake to. There was an empty ketchup bottle on the floor next to him, and...Frisk?

Frisk was hiding underneath the coffee table that was wedged between the wall and couch. When Geno caught their eye they gave him a cheesy smile and pressed their finger to their mouth. "Shhh." They hushed.

Geno narrowed his eye sockets, but decided against interrogation.

He stood from the creaky couch, mourned his creaky bones, and made his way into the kitchen, hoping to find some breakfast. He opened the pantry, and what he found among the various food items, was Chara, hiding under the bottom shelf with an 'oh shit' look on their face. They relaxed however when they saw Geno. They too raised their finger in a hushed plea for silence.

Geno opened his mouth to retort, but Chara shook their head franticly and handed Geno the cereal.

Geno eyed the box before deciding that it was breakfast enough and closing the door on Chara.

Then he went to the fridge for milk. Thankfully he didn't find a child hiding in the produce drawer.

But there was one when he turned around.

MK, the sweet armless kid from the Underground had walked into the kitchen. "Hey Sans!" He greeted. "Have you seen Frisk and Chara around? We're playing hide and go seek."

Geno nodded, he had expected as much. *well it would be cheating if i told you* he said easily. *but there definitely isn't anyone hiding in the pantry.*

Monster Kid grinned at this and went to the pantry door, skillfully turning the knob with his foot.

"Found you!" He choused.

Chara crawled out from their space with an upset look, they glared at Geno before turning to MK. For a second Geno thought Chara would push the kid down, but they didn't. "Alright, fine," They huffed, "let's go find Frisk." The two left for the hallway and Geno went back to his breakfast quest.

He made a bowl of cereal, poured some coffee, and found a place to sit at the table. From the living room he heard a 'FOUND YOU!' Followed by a giggle from Frisk, some bickering, and then by counting from Chara.

"1, 2, 3, 4"

Frisk and Monster Kid ran into the kitchen seconds later, MK ducking under the table, and Frisk running outside.

Then, Sans came into the room, wearing his signature slippers and a long blue robe. Geno looked warily at him. Sans didn't speak, he made himself breakfast, poured some coffee, and sat opposite of Geno, who made it a point not to look up.

The quiet moment was ruined by MK. "Hey woah! There are two of you!" He crawled out from under the table and marveled at the skeletons. "Did Alphys finally work out cloning?"

*nah.* Sans yawned, *he's my evil twin.*

"R-really, I've never meant-"

"Found you!" Came Chara's voice as they waltzed into the kitchen, a triumphant look on their face. "You really suck at hiding dude. Where'd Frisk go?"

"Chara, Sans has an evil twin!" MK had stars in his eyes.

Geno and Sans both a chuckled a bit.

"Wha-oh! Um, ya." Chara agreed, snickering a little. "He sure does. Anyway, Frisk?"

"Oh, ya, they went outside."

"You're on my team then! Lead the way!" Chara declared, walking for the backdoor.

MK pursed his lips, but followed Chara anyway. The two left, leaving the skeletons alone.

There was a pause. Both sipped their coffee. Then, Gneo spoke.

*so, the two immortal beings who can manipulate time itself spend their days playing hide and seek with the neighborhood kids?* He asked Sans, perhaps a touch of anger in his voice.

*yup.* Sans agreed, taking a bite of cereal.

*don't you see anything wrong with that?*

*nope.*

*why?*

*playing hide and go seek,* Sans began, *it maintains their sanity. childhood shapes the rest of a person's life, you know.*

That was vague. And didn't answer Geno's question all. The skeleton took a breath. *but,* Geno sounded annoyed, *they're not kids! 60 timelines, right? and they at least get to 70 years old in each, right? that's over 4000 years of life! and that's a fucking conservative estimate!* He crossed his arms, *they're acting like children.*

*yup.* Sans sighed, like he was tired of saying his next words. *that's because physically, hormonally, and emotionally, they ARE children. their brains haven't developed yet. trust me, i've seen timelines where they act like adults in this state of their life. it just destroys them from a young age, leads to additions, danger, anger, and pain, and ultimately another genocide timeline when a RESET rolls around. but if they're allowed to be young, allowed to have fun and live a life that isn't just crushing guilt and self hatred, then they're better off, more balanced, more peaceful and secure.*

*and so what? you just play daddy after every RESET?* Geno raised his voice a little, angry, though he wasn't sure why.

*no.* Sans said calmly, *i simply protect them, defend them, and keep them out of trouble. it's the easiest way to protect and defend ALL of monsterkind. it's my burden, sure, but it's a part of my job. if i do it well, give the kiddos a chance to learn and grow, then, well, i never have to destroy them if we all mess up.*

Geno felt like a huge weight was being thrown onto his shoulders. In a somewhat broken voice, he asked, *is that...what i have to do?*

Sans shrugged. *no. i've meant sanses from many timelines. we all have different ways of coping.* He took a sip of his coffee.

Geno frowned, *wouldn't...i don't know...a therapist, or a trained professional be better...suited, to handle something like this? i mean...i...had a talk with chara last night, and,*

Sans froze, he began watching Geno with a sort of intensity.

*and…* Geno went on, *they seemed to be pretty broken. they told me some things, and i didn't know how to respond. they kinda made it sound like they were suicidal, but they couldn't die, and when they went up to bed again i, um, well i drank an entire bottle of ketchup and passed out on the couch. i don't think i could handle...having to be there for them, _i'm_ not mature enough. and frisk...well, i'm not sure what their deal is. but they seem off too.* His words trailed.

*hmmm,* Sans hummed, *i'll talk to them about it. and as for them getting professional help, well, you said it yourself, 4000 years of life, not only for them, but for me too. i've gotten degrees in psychology, child and adult. and in metaphysics, philosophy, magic, and more. anything i thought would help with raising those two. i know the kids better than anyone. for them i'm a constant, someone who remembers everything. i'm their only rock outside each other. there's no one better suited for the job.*

Geno felt like he was going to be sick. *heh, maybe i should give you my frisk and chara then.* He chuckled half-heartedly.

Sans laughed, *tried that once, taking in more than one pair of kids. it didn't end well.* He put a comforting hand on Geno's shoulder, *if you're anything like me, kid, you'll do just fine. just keep your skull clear, and your mind open. trust me, you have a skele-ton of time.*

Geno gave a small laugh.

There was a silence.

It was broken when Chara sauntered into the kitchen, whistling. They were carrying a long sheet and a pillow under their arms. They stopped and surveyed the kitchen with their shining red eyes, then they crossed the room, grabbed a broom, which was leaning against the back door, a box of crackers from the pantry, before leaving.

The skeletons just watched the child quietly.

When they were gone, Sans spoke. *i should go see what they're doing.* he sighed, standing from the table. Geno grabbed his coffee cup and followed, a curious look on his face. Nothing could prepare the two for the absolute mess that awaited them.

* * *

 **A/N: I really like writing this story. I hope you're enjoying reading it.**

* * *

 **Answering my fan mail:**

 **Anonymous liker6: Well, I'm glad this was the first story you commented on! Thank you for writing, reading, and sticking with me.**

 **Mageblood: You by far are my favorite commenter. Thank you so much for reading! Maybe we'll delve a little bit more into what chara was about to say, but you'll just have to wait and see. Worry not, more angst will come. And thank you for the comment on the dreams, I had a lot of fun writing that interlude. Hope you liked Chapter 6!**

* * *

 **Thank you everyone for reading, you guys are great!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Content warnings: Serious nerd alert!**

* * *

As the two skeleton's approached the livingroom, they found quite a mess awaiting them. The room had been transformed from a neat and tidy place to gather, look at old pictures, and watch TV, to a massive castle constructed of pillows and blankets. Chara leaned the broom they had retrieved against the couch, tying a scarf around it to hold it in place.

The skeleton's watched as the ex-demon used the broom like a support beam, hanging a sheet from it, and draping the other side of the sheet over the top of a recliner.

*whatcha doing there, kid?* Sans asked, his voice laid back as ever.

"Duh," Chara pushed the coffee table into the center of the fort, there was an edge of excitement to their voice. "It's campaign night!"

Geno watched quizzically. *campaign? ya running for office or something?* He asked. *pretty sure you need a better base than a blanket fort.*

Chara gave Geno a look that was either playful, or dangerous. They reached into the makeshift palace and pulled out a wooden sword. They brandished it at Geno.

Geno stepped back, feeling immediately defensive.

Chara either didn't notice his discomfort, or didn't care, they spoke with a proud voice. "You dare insult my home?" They asked, "I'll have you know, I am the Avariel warrior known to my enemies as Bellona the Great! The bell of death! I am a being of myth and legend, I-"

Chara was interrupted when the front door opened.

"Chara," Frisk's voice called. "Help carr…ry?"

"I do not know of this being you call 'Chara,' Eirene, but I, Bellona, I will gladly assist a fellow Avariel." The ex-demon responded.

Frisk giggled, and bowed, "I th…ank you, Lady Bell!"

Chara dropped their weapon and went to help Frisk carry an assortment of items inside. There was a tablet, 3 very heavy books, some dice, papers, pencils, and some junk food. MK followed, carrying a plastic bag in his teeth, through which Geno could see a mix of chocolate bars and sodas.

Geno was confused to say the least. *4000 years, huh?* he whispered to Sans, a disturbed look on his face as he studied the toy sword. *i'm surprised it took them this long to completely lose their minds.*

Sans chuckled, he was already walking back to the kitchen, unconcerned. *nah, it's just campaign night. the kiddos play dungeons and dragons every now and then. sometimes i join in. not tonight though. too lazy, plus, i have a book to finish.* He paused at the door and called over his shoulder, *just have the fort cleaned up by morning! tori and paps are coming home tomorrow.*

"Kay!" All three kids called back.

Geno almost followed his double, but stopped, curious.

He watched as the kids shoved all the items into the depths of the fort. Chara did some more construction work, with the help of Frisk, who fetched pillows from upstairs, along with bean bag chairs, and some Christmas lights to brighten the fort. The two humans were rather busy, and as a result ignored Geno. It was MK who finally went up to talk to him.

"Sup, Sans's twin!" He greeted. "You just gonna stand there?"

Geno opened his mouth to respond, but didn't get the chance, as the kid quickly babbled over him. "You can play, if you want! I have extra character sheets! We could use a healer!"

Geno thought about it for a moment. *…sure.* He responded finally.

And that's how the skeleton found himself seated on a cushy bean bag, staring down a Christmas light lit coffee table full of dice, paper, pencils, and sweets.

The kids lead him through the character creation process. He became a drawf named Grendar, a lawful neutral cleric. He was the third member in Frisk's and Chara's party, who were 2 true neutral winged elves, Bellona, the fighter, and Eirene, the bard.

Setting up his character took about an hour, but despite the wait, he was actually really excited to play when the game started up.

MK, the dungeon master, had a tablet that was voice activated, which allowed him to flip through his work with just his words. He cleared his throat. "Tablet, go to, page 27, adventure 2, the Blue Sun Treasure." The tablet lit up, showing a series of words. MK began reading.

"It's a dark, and dreary morning in Blue Sun Square." The dungeon master began, "Your party rides into the town taking in the sights, and looking for trouble." Those words were the the start of a long and grand adventure.

The 4 ended up playing through the night, and into the early hours of the morning, rarely getting up. There were dangers, fights, songs, and a lot of junk food. The ceiling of the blanket fort collapsed a total of 5 times. They took turns fixing it. It was close to 3am when the game came to an end, or at least, a pause. Chara had fallen asleep, leaning on Frisk, who was using the coffee table as a sort of pillow. Monster kid was curled up on his bean bag, snoring lightly. Geno was the only one who was still awake.

Geno considered for a second cleaning up the fort a bit, to save the kids the trouble of waking up early and having to do it before Toriel got home. But the skeleton was exhausted, and decided that he would instead attempt to sleep through the night in a bed, rather than a couch.

He excited the fort, leaving the children to their sleeping.

Stepping out of the small castle and into the disaster area of a livingroom outside was a relief. He stretched his bones, yawning. It was dark. He slowly made his way toward the stairs. But as he did something strange occurred. There was a splitting pain in his skull. He closed his eye sockets, leaning against the railing of the stairs. Besides the pain, his body buzzed with something he knew to be DETERMINATION.

He could smell buttercups in the air. He could hear birds. He could hear echoing footsteps. He opened his eyes and regretted it. There was a flash of gold. He saw Frisk. The child's eyes glowed red, a knife gleamed in their bloody, dusty hands.

*NO!* He roared. And suddenly, he was back, standing on the bottom step of the stairs in the quiet house. He could feel his eye, glowing blue. He felt the DETERMINATION disappear from his bones. He crumpled to the floor and breathed heavily, once more screwing his eyes closed. No, no he wouldn't go back. Never.

He didn't know how long he was there, lying on the steps.

But eventually, he heard something which brought him back to reality. A little voice.

"Sans?"

He pulled himself up, slowly, and opened his eye sockets. His eye emitted a brilliant blue light that cut through the dark, illuminating the speaker.

Frisk.

They were staring at him. Their eyes were brown. In their hand was not a knife, but a piece of paper, which they fidgeted with nervously. Geno couldn't tell what was written on it, and frankly, he didn't care. His eye was still glowing, although, it was considerably dimmer than it had been a second ago.

Frisk looked on, keeping their calm to the best of their abilities.

*kid.* Geno greeted them, his voice shaky. *why are you up?*

"Y, you al-most jum…ped." They began, "I could feel it. Th…the…v-oid, is mad. It w, w, wants you back." They spoke quietly, their voice, despite being fragmented and slow, sounded high and clear, like a bell. "T-" They took a deep breath, "Time. Is. Messed. Up."

Geno closed his eyes. *ya, well, time can go fuck itself.* He retorted. *i don't plan on going anywhere. You, however, should go to bed.*

"Don't wanna." Frisk said back. "I wanna…sh, shhhhow you some'n"

This intrigued Geno. *what? hey!* He was thrown off guard when Frisk grabbed his bony hands. The child was still clutching the paper.

"Port." They said.

*a port?* Geno asked, perplexed. *like…where boats go?*

Frisk shook their head, frustrated, "Tel-a-port." They clarified.

*where?*

"Lab. In Snowdin."

*why?*

Frisk tried for a smile, "C, cuz, I'm the le-gen-dary fart master." They said, determined.

Geno stared back at the kid, cracking a smirk, then outright laughing. The kid knew the code word. After all this time, he was sure that he no longer had use for that anymore! It was absurd that they knew it. His eye stopped glowing.

Frisk huffed and let go of Geno, taking an exasperated step back. They made a palm down 'Y' sign with both hands, and pushed their hands downward, the sign for 'Stay.'

Geno complied, still laughing, as the child ran up the stairs. They returned quickly holding not just the paper, but a silver key.

The key to his lab.

*how did you…?*

Once more Frisk grabbed the skeleton's hands. Geno knew what they wanted.

This time, the skeleton complied. He called upon the power of space itself. Together, he and Frisk plunged into the void, and emerged in what almost felt like another reality all together.

Geno Sans stood outback his home. The usual warm lights were out. The snow was up to his knees, with no one to tend to it. New snow drifted from the sky. Frisk protected the paper from the flakes.

The child wasted no time with words, they strode to the door behind the skeleton's house. They produced the silver key and opened up the lab, stepping out of the cold and motioning for Geno to join them.

He followed.

The place, as first glance, appeared to have not changed a bit. It never did. The purpose of the room was to stay the same, no matter how many RESETS there were. But now, something was different.

It was a small addition to the lab, almost hidden behind the still covered machine. It looked like a piece of wood that had been placed up against the wall. But, Geno realized what it truly was Frisk walked to it, and gave it a push.

It swung outward. It was…a door.

Geno Sans could see a hallway stretching beyond.

Frisk walked through the doorway, and motioned for Geno Sans to follow, waving the unknown paper like a battle flag.

Geno, Sans, perhaps foolishly, walked after them.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh...was that a cliff hanger? Oopies. *Evil laughs* Apologies for the hiatus. I tried to write this chapter no more than 14 times. I finally sat down, scrapped my previous attempts, and wrote it from scratch. Took 3 hours and some coffee. Thank heavens for coffee.**

* * *

 **Answering my fan mail:**

 **ngrey651: *Evil laugh intensifies* Oh, I've noticed that issue, that issue is sweet storybook irony, and I love it. It'll be addressed, in time. Thank you for noticing it as well.**

 **PurpleLines: Well, I'm glad you liked it! Hope this chapter continued to impress. Thanks for reading!**

 **Mageblood: Thank you for saying so! I hope the wait wasn't too long.**

* * *

 **Thank you to all my lovely readers, faves, followers, and reveiwers! You guys are great! Until next time.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Content warnings: If you've read this far, you don't really need a warning. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Bellona, the mighty Avariel warrior sat atop a tall tower. She was lounging after a particularly long battle, stretching her angel-like wings, and dangling her feet casually over the edge. The sky above her was bright, and endless, and the ground below was bustling and alive. She watched the people of the small town go about their day, unaware of the red-eyed fighter who lurked above._

 _Eventually, her gaze turned to the clouds, she recognized shapes in them._

 _One cloud looked like a bar of chocolate. Another, a flower. A third looked…like Sans. There was a hole in the Sans cloud where his socket should be, the blue sky shone through it. Bellona watched, perplexed._

 _Then it got dark._

 _The sky seemed to shutter._

 _Her perch seemed the quake._

 _The blue of the sky turned void black, except for that spot, that ghostly image of an eye, watching her._

 _Bellona felt the tower fall away. She tried to flap her wings, but they were gone._

 _She fell._

 _Their clothes had changed, they wore a tattered, dusty sweater which was green and blue. A heart shaped locket hung from their neck. Falling along with them, seeming to choke them them. They held tight in their hand a knife, which was stained with blood. They fell, and they fell, and they fell, the void engulfing everything._

And then they sat up, snorting awake.

Chara looked around, groggy from their terrifying dream. They were leaned against Frisk, in the safety of their blanket palace.

They had no knife, and their locket wasn't choking them, it merely hung on their chest, warm, and shining gold in the lowlight.

Chara took in their surroundings. Despite it being late, Frisk, they noted, was wide awake, the other child's eyes were bright and concentrated on something, and their head tilted downward. The string lights above gave Frisk's face a severe looking shadow.

Chara had a terrible feeling in their stomach. They knew this feeling. Every time someone fell through a hole in their universe and into another, they felt like this, like a piece of them was being torn away. Chara sighed, as their eyes drifted to Geno's character sheet, which was still on the Christmas light lit coffee table. Even in their groggy state, they put together that the other Sans, the one who had once hated them, must have jumped back into his reality.

It was a pity, but it was also bound to happen.

Chara almost went back to sleep. But before they could rest their head, they heard a clear bell-like voice utter two words. "Come…back."

Frisk had spoken. They reached their arm out, as if they were physically pulling something into existence, and suddenly, that empty, torn feeling dissipated from Chara's chest. They heard a crash as the other Sans was thrown back into their world.

Chara studied Frisk, confused.

"Why," They began, in a whisper, but Frisk frantically shook their head, holding out their left hand, and chopping their right on their outstretched palm, the sign for 'stop.'

Chara shut their mouth.

Frisk took in a quiet breath and leaned over to Chara, giving the ex-demon a small kiss on the forehead. Chara felt through their link that Frisk was sending them soothing emotions, a silent, but powerful plea for Chara to simply go back to sleep.

The resurrected child hadn't noticed how much tension they had stored in their shoulders, until it melted to the warm kiss. Their eyes drooped and they slumped onto the table. Their locket clattered as it made contact to the glass.

Chara felt Frisk crawl from the fort, and then, the ex-demon drifted to sleep.

They awoke, perhaps only seconds later, to the sound of laughing. The other Sans's laugh.

In a daze, Chara opened their eyes and crawled to the edge of the fort. They peaked out to see what was happening. From the fort, they could see the edge of the stairs. They could see Frisk and the other Sans. They observed as Frisk ran up, and down the stairs to bring the young skeleton a familiar key.

They observed as the other Sans teleported Frisk away.

Chara frowned, forcing themself into a state of full awareness and leaving the fort, passing a slight glance to MK, who was still fast asleep, as they did. That kid could sleep through anything.

Chara stood, stretched, and shoved their hands in their pockets. And then they walked. No way were they going back to sleep after that dream. But more importantly, they were DETERMINED to stay awake, if only to wait up for Frisk.

They walked into the kitchen, noting a discarded quantum physics book on the table that was open to the last page. They ignored it and went to the pantry, throwing open the door and reaching for a midnight snack.

But, instead of a king sized chocolate bar, their usual food of choice to chase away nightmares, they found only an empty wrapper. They furrowed their brow in anger, pulling the wrapper down and studying the trash. By the light of the moon, which filtered through the kitchen windows, they could make out a few short sentences written on the foil.

hey kid. you can't sleep either, huh? meet me at the usual place.

Chara glared. It was then that they noticed the back door was open, only slightly. They sauntered from the kitchen, and into the cool night air. They knew where they were going. The ex-demon waltz over to a tall, brambly tree, which was close to the house, and in the darkness, they started climbing.

Branches bent downwards, crissing and crossing as they ascended. Once or twice a branch broke beneath their bare feet. But regardless, Chara managed to reach the top. They stepped with practiced grace onto the roof of their home.

They saw him rather quickly, and gave an annoyed huff to announce their presence.

Sans sat on the roof, his eyes were cast upward as he watched the stars.

"You ate my chocolate." Chara accused.

The skeleton didn't look at them, he merely chuckled.

Chara stomped like a petulant child over to Sans, sitting angrily beside him, and scowling. The scowl didn't last long, as Sans wordlessly handed them half of the missing Chocolate bar.

Chara accepted this as a proper offering and took a bite.

There was a beat of silence.

Then Chara spoke. "Frisk went with the other you to the lab." They said.

Sans nodded, unruffled by this. *figured they would.* He confided. *they like showing off.*

Chara snorted at this.

There was more silence, but this time it was broken by Sans.

*heard you've been talking to the other me.* He said. *he told me that you two had a chat last night. He said that you sounded suicidal…?*

Chara actually laughed at this. "I'm always suicidal." They shrugged. "Thought you knew that. It's ironic, cuz I can't die." They said the last part half thoughtful, and half bitter, taking a final bite of the chocolate. Subconsciously, they found themselves fiddling with their locket.

Sans shook his head, *that's not irony, that's coincidence.*

"Well…technically it could be considered dramatic irony." Chara said. "Anyway, I'm fine. Fine as I'll ever be, at least."

Sans nodded, eyesockets still watching the stars. *okay.* He said gently. *but kid, if you ever need to talk…*

Chara was quiet for a moment, "You'll be the first one I'll go to." They promised.

When Sans spoke next, he sounded a bit surprised. *not frisk?* He asked.

Chara shrugged "They'll be the second." There was another beat. Chara took in a breath of the cold night air. "Do…you think they'll be okay tonight? At the lab?" They asked.

*you worry too much.* Sans responded. *you know frisk can handle themself. they have a lot of power.*

The resurrected child nodded at this. And then, with shaky hands, they held the locket out and opened it with a soft 'click'. A red glow came from inside. Sitting in the locket was half of a heart. It looked to have been cut from a full heart, right down the middle with surgical precision. It floated and pulsed in the confines of the locket, fluttering with a nervous energy. It was warm, and light. "Ya." Chara responded, studying the fragment of SOUL which kept them alive. "They do."

Chara's words seemed to linger like a fog above the quiet home.

Sans put a skeletal hand on their shoulder. *come on kid. let's go clean up the blanket fort and get you to bed.*

Chara closed the locket, and let it hang from their neck once more.

"Alright." They agreed.

The two returned to the livingroom and made quick work of the fort. That is to say, Sans teleported the majority of the blankets into his closet, leaving one which he threw over MK, and Chara pushed the D&D supplies into a neat-ish pile on the side of the table.

As Chara stacked the items, they noticed that one piece of paper was missing from the stack. They frowned, but didn't think much more about it.

Before they knew it, Chara was in their own bed, curled up in the dark room alone. Their locket was pressed against them. They were safe. They fell into a fast, and dreamless slumber.

* * *

 **Publishing fanfiction is my favorite 2am activity. Hope you liked this chapter. Please review!**

* * *

 **Answering my fan mail:**

 ** _That one guy named me_ : It is a great quote. Next time someone tells you that there's no time to do something, you know what to say. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


End file.
